VA–SBA Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1615 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 14, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs AN ACT To transfer the responsibility of verifying small business con- cerns owned and controlled by veterans or service-dis- abled veterans to the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1615 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Verification Alignment and Service-disabled Business 3 Adjustment Act’’ or the ‘‘VA–SBA Act’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Transfer date. Sec. 3. Amendment to and transfer of veteran-owned and service-disabled vet- eran-owned business database. Sec. 4. Additional requirements for database. Sec. 5. Procurement program for small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. Sec. 6. Certification for small business concerns owned and controlled by vet- erans. Sec. 7. Status of self-certified small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. Sec. 8. Transfer of the Center for Verification and Evaluation of the Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs to the Small Business Administra- tion. Sec. 9. Report. Sec. 10. Determination of budgetary effects. SEC. 2. TRANSFER DATE. 7 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘transfer date’’ 8 means the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment 9 of this Act, except that such date may be extended an un- 10 limited number of times by a period of not more than 6 11 months if the Administrator of the Small Business Admin- 12 istration and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs jointly 13 issue a notice to Congress and the Law Revision Counsel 14 of the House of Representatives containing— 15 (1) a certification that such extension is nec- 16 essary; 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1615 RFS (2) the rationale for and the length of such ex- 1 tension; and 2 (3) a plan to comply with the requirements of 3 this Act within the timeframe of the extension. 4 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO AND TRANSFER OF VETERAN- 5 OWNED AND SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN- 6 OWNED BUSINESS DATABASE. 7 (a) AMENDMENT OF VETERAN-OWNED AND SERV- 8 ICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS DATA- 9 BASE.—Effective on the transfer date, section 8127 of 10 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (e)— 12 (A) by striking ‘‘the Secretary’’ and insert- 13 ing ‘‘the Administrator’’; and 14 (B) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert- 15 ing ‘‘section 36 of the Small Business Act’’; 16 (2) in subsection (f)— 17 (A) by striking ‘‘the Secretary’’ each place 18 such term appears, other than in the last place 19 such term appears under paragraph (2)(A), and 20 inserting ‘‘the Administrator’’; 21 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘small 22 business concerns owned and controlled by vet- 23 erans with service-connected disabilities’’ each 24 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘small 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1615 RFS business concerns owned and controlled by serv- 1 ice-disabled veterans’’; 2 (C) in paragraph (2)— 3 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 4 ‘‘to access’’ and inserting ‘‘to obtain from 5 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’’; and 6 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 7 inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this subsection— 9 ‘‘(i) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 10 ‘‘(I) verify an individual’s status as a vet- 11 eran or a service-disabled veteran; and 12 ‘‘(II) establish a system to permit the Ad- 13 ministrator to access, but not alter, such 14 verification; and 15 ‘‘(ii) the Administrator shall verify— 16 ‘‘(I) the status of a business concern as a 17 small business concern; and 18 ‘‘(II) the ownership and control of such 19 business concern. 20 ‘‘(C) The Administrator may not certify a concern 21 under subsection (b) or section 36A if the Secretary of 22 Veterans Affairs cannot provide the verification described 23 under subparagraph (B)(i)(I).’’; 24 (D) by striking paragraphs (4) and (7); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1615 RFS (E) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and 1 (6) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively, and 2 redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (6); 3 (F) in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, 4 by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘The 5 Administrator’’; and 6 (G) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated— 7 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 8 (I) by striking ‘‘verify the status 9 of the concern as a small business 10 concern or the ownership or control of 11 the concern’’ and inserting ‘‘certify 12 the status of the concern as a small 13 business concern owned and controlled 14 by veterans (under section 36A) or a 15 small business concern owned and 16 controlled by service-disabled veterans 17 (under section 36(g))’’; and 18 (II) by striking ‘‘verification’’ 19 and inserting ‘‘certification’’; 20 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 21 (I) in clause (i), by striking 22 ‘‘small business concern owned and 23 controlled by veterans with service- 24 connected disabilities’’ and inserting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1615 RFS ‘‘small business concern owned and 1 controlled by service-disabled vet- 2 erans’’; and 3 (II) in clause (ii)— 4 (aa) by amending subclause 5 (I) to read as follows: 6 ‘‘(I) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or 7 the Administrator; or’’; and 8 (bb) in subclause (II), by 9 striking ‘‘the contracting officer 10 of the Department’’ and inserting 11 ‘‘the applicable contracting offi- 12 cer’’; and 13 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 14 (3) by redesignating subsection (k) (relating to 15 definitions) as subsection (l); 16 (4) by inserting after subsection (j) (relating to 17 annual reports) the following: 18 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL TRANSFER FOR CERTIFICATION 19 COSTS.—For each fiscal year, the Secretary of Veterans 20 Affairs shall reimburse the Administrator in an amount 21 necessary to cover any cost incurred by the Administrator 22 for certifying small business concerns owned and con- 23 trolled by veterans that do not qualify as small business 24 concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1615 RFS for the Secretary for purposes of this section and section 1 8128 of this title. The Administrator is authorized to ac- 2 cept such reimbursement. The amount of any such reim- 3 bursement shall be determined jointly by the Secretary 4 and the Administrator and shall be provided from fees col- 5 lected by the Secretary under multiple-award schedule 6 contracts. Any disagreement about the amount shall be 7 resolved by the Director of the Office of Management and 8 Budget.’’; and 9 (5) subsection (l) (relating to definitions), as so 10 redesignated, by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(4) The term Administrator means the Admin- 12 istrator of the Small Business Administration.’’. 13 (b) TRANSFER OF REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO 14 DATABASE TO THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—Effective on 15 the transfer date, subsection (f) of section 8127 of title 16 38, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), 17 is transferred to section 36 of the Small Business Act (15 18 U.S.C. 657f), inserted so as to appear after subsection (e). 19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The following 20 amendments shall take effect on the transfer date: 21 (1) SMALL BUSINESS ACT.—Section 22 3(q)(2)(C)(i)(III) of the Small Business Act (15 23 U.S.C. 632(q)(2)(C)(i)(III)) is amended by striking 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1615 RFS ‘‘section 8127(f) of title 38, United States Code’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘section 36’’. 2 (2) TITLE 38.—Section 8128 of title 38, United 3 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 4 8127(f) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘section 36 of 5 the Small Business Act’’. 6 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DATABASE. 7 (a) ADMINISTRATION ACCESS TO DATABASE BEFORE 8 THE TRANSFER DATE.—During the period between the 9 date of the enactment of this Act and the transfer date, 10 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall provide the Admin- 11 istrator of the Small Business Administration with access 12 to the contents of the database described under section 13 8127(f) of title 38, United States Code. 14 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 15 or the amendments made by this Act may be construed— 16 (1) as prohibiting the Administrator of the 17 Small Business Administration from combining the 18 contents of the database described under section 19 8127(f) of title 38, United States Code, with other 20 databases maintained by the Administration; or 21 (2) as requiring the Administrator to use any 22 system or technology related to the database de- 23 scribed under section 8127(f) of title 38, United 24 States Code, on or after the transfer date to comply 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1615 RFS with the requirement to maintain a database under 1 subsection (f) of section 36 of the Small Business 2 Act (as transferred pursuant to section 3(b) of this 3 Act). 4 (c) RECOGNITION OF THE ISSUANCE OF JOINT REG- 5 ULATIONS.—The date specified under section 1832(e) of 6 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 7 2017 (15 U.S.C. 632 note) shall be deemed to be October 8 1, 2018. 9 SEC. 5. PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS 10 CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY 11 SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS. 12 (a) PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESS 13 CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DIS- 14 ABLED VETERANS.—Section 36 of the Small Business Act 15 (15 U.S.C. 657f) is amended— 16 (1) by striking subsections (d) and (e); 17 (2) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), and 18 (c) as subsections (c), (d), and (e) respectively; 19 (3) by inserting before subsection (c), as so re- 20 designated, the following: 21 ‘‘(a) CONTRACTING OFFICER DEFINED.—For pur- 22 poses of this section, the term ‘contracting officer’ has the 23 meaning given such term in section 2101 of title 41, 24 United States Code. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1615 RFS ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF SMALL BUSINESS CON- 1 CERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY SERVICE-DISABLED 2 VETERANS.—With respect to a procurement program or 3 preference established under this Act that applies to prime 4 contractors, the Administrator shall— 5 ‘‘(1) certify the status of the concern as a 6 ‘small business concern owned and controlled by 7 service-disabled veterans’; and 8 ‘‘(2) require the periodic recertification of such 9 status.’’; 10 (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 11 striking ‘‘and that the award can be made at a fair 12 market price’’ and inserting ‘‘, that the award can 13 be made at a fair market price, and if each concern 14 is certified by the Administrator as a small business 15 concern owned and controlled by service-disabled 16 veterans’’; and 17 (5) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Notwith- 19 standing subsection (c), a contracting officer may only 20 award a sole source contract to a small business concern 21 owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans or a 22 contract on the basis of competition restricted to small 23 business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled 24 veterans if such a concern is certified by the Administrator 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 1615 RFS as a small business concern owned and controlled by serv- 1 ice-disabled veterans. 2 ‘‘(h) ENFORCEMENT; PENALTIES.— 3 ‘‘(1) VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—In car- 4 rying out this section, the Administrator shall estab- 5 lish procedures relating to— 6 ‘‘(A) the filing, investigation, and disposi- 7 tion by the Administration of any challenge to 8 the eligibility of a small business concern to re- 9 ceive assistance under this section (including a 10 challenge, filed by an interested party, relating 11 to the veracity of a certification made or infor- 12 mation provided to the Administration by a 13 small business concern under subsection (b)); 14 and 15 ‘‘(B) verification by the Administrator of 16 the accuracy of any certification made or infor- 17 mation provided to the Administration by a 18 small business concern under subsection (b). 19 ‘‘(2) EXAMINATIONS.— 20 ‘‘(A) EXAMINATION OF APPLICANTS.—The 21 procedures established under paragraph (1) 22 shall provide for a program of examinations by 23 the Administrator of any small business concern 24 making a certification or providing information 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1615.RFS H1615 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 1615 RFS to the Administrator under subsection (b), to 1 determine the veracity of any statements or in- 2 formation provided as part of such certification 3 or otherwise provided under subsection (b). 4 ‘‘(B) EXAMINATION OF CERTIFIED CON- 5 CERNS.—The procedures established under 6 paragraph (1) shall provide for the examination 7 of risk-based samples of small business con- 8 cerns certified under subsection (b), or of any 9 small business concern that the Administrator 10 believes poses a particular risk or with respect 11 to which the Administrator receives specific and 12 credible information alleging that the small 13 business concern no longer meets eligibility re- 14 quirements to be certified as a small business 15 concern owned and controlled by service-d [Text truncated for display. 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